Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Anyway, so I was sprawled in bed thinking about history. Read the word "Tudor" and "dynasty" in my course book and my mind went, CLICK! I had something on this subject somewhere in my review pile, didn't I? I was pretty sure I did. It hardly takes a big force to make me get near and grope my book pile, so there I went to find what I was searching for.

AH HA. Thought so. One of the '09 ARCs I'd received. And so decided I'd make a "let's see what exciting stuff comes out in 09!" because history was boring me. I'm thinking of doing a series of posts scattered throughout the next few weeks? Hmm.

Exciting! Things! Out! In! '09!(I have yet to read any of these - yet. This is not endorsement - yet.)

So, first up is the book I was thinking of as I was "studying" --

The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby.

Description: Life in the court of King Henry VIII is a complex game. When fifteen-year-old Catherine Howard catches the king’s eye, she quickly transforms from pawn to queen. But even luxury beyond imagination loses its luster as young Catherine finds her life—and her heart—threatened by the needs of an aging king and a family hungry for power. Will their agendas deliver Catherine to the same fate as her infamous cousin, Anne Boleyn—sacrificed at the altar of family ambition?

Steph: Let's take a moment to be tacky: DAYUM, that cover. (I am never doing THAT Penguin: Dutton, Viking and Dial. Definitely going to the top of the pile. (Also, I wanna know who's the editor....)

Speaking of Penguin...

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

Description: Fifteen-year-old Callie buys a pair of real Prada pumps to impress the cool crowd on a school trip to London . Goodbye, Callie the clumsy geek-girl, hello popularity! But before she knows what’s hit her, Callie wobbles, trips, conks her head… and wakes up in the year 1815!

She stumbles about until she meets the kind-hearted Emily, who takes Callie in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. Sparks soon fly between Callie and Emily’s cousin, Alex, the maddeningly handsome—though totally arrogant—Duke of Harksbury. Too bad he seems to have something sinister up his ruffled sleeve…

From face-planting off velvet piano benches and hiding behind claw-foot couches to streaking through the estate halls wearing nothing but an itchy blanket, Callie’s curiosity about Alex creates all kinds of trouble.

But the grandfather clock is ticking on her 19th Century shenanigans. Can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, win a kiss from Alex, and prove to herself that she’s more than just a loud-mouth klutz before her time there is up?

Steph: I'll admit it, I'm not the biggest fan of the cover. That said, I adore the premise and expect this will be one of the fabulous, fun reads with a historical edge that you drive a lazy afternoon away with, so I am excited about it. Also it helps that Mandy, the author, is a very nice person.

Speaking of historical edge...

The Season by Sarah MacLean (Thanks to Alea for bringing this to my attention!)

Description: Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra Stafford doesn’t fit into the world of Regency London — she’s strong-willed, sharp-tongued, and she absolutely loathes dress fittings. Unfortunately, her mother has been waiting for years for Alex to be old enough to take part in the social whirlwind of a London Season so she can be married off to someone safe, respectable, wealthy, and almost certainly boring. Alex is much more interested in adventure than romance.

Between sumptuous balls, lavish dinner parties and country weekends, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to find herself in her biggest scrape yet. When the Earl of Blackmoor is killed in a puzzling accident, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. It’s a mystery brimming with espionage, murder, and suspicion. As she and Gavin grow closer, will Alex’s heart be stolen in the process?

Steph: I'm interested in this scandalous society type of historical fiction. Haven't read The Luxe (or even La Petite Four), so it's still novelty to me. At any rate, the cover is gorgeous.

Back to straight historical...

The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Unofficial Description: After finding an ancient tome entitled the Librum Maleficii et Disordinae, or the Book of Chaos, in her dead father's library, sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe discovers she's the key to a legendary biblical prophecy. With the help of her hunky boyfriend, James, and her two friends, Lia sets out to decode the primordial riddle that may bring an end to the prophecy forever. The good part is that they get to have a big, scary adventure in really cool clothes (it's 1890) and Lia and James manage to get frisky by the river, on the porch, and pretty much anywhere else they can steal a moment alone. The downside? Lia is faced with life-threatening, soul-stealing danger from the one person she should trust most - her twin sister, Alice.

Steph: Carrie Ryan knows, from my incessant IMing, how excited I am about this one. Anything surrounding this book is very elusive right now, but here's what I'm aware of: It's the title Little, Brown will be pushing next year. LB is very consistent with their authors and they have an amazing amount of bestsellers to their name (*in one breath* StephenieMeyerJamesPattersonAliceSeboldCecilyvonZiegesar), so I know they know what they're doing. There are no official details yet, but I am DEFINITELY looking forward to reading this one.

And speaking of Carrie Ryan...

That's for next post!

I know I'm probably missing other historical or historical like fiction coming up next year. I'll continue browsing for those and will probably do an add-on post whenever I have enough. Or something. Suggestions, etc, can be posted on the comments section or sent to me via email. Whatever's easiest for ya.

Yay! That's hilarious that i brought something to your attention, like that will ever happen again! I heard about Prada and Prejudice from Lenore, sounds totally cute! And yes that first cover is pretty striking. Keep these posts coming!!!

I would love to enlighten you about Prophecy, but even I am under strict instructions to keep everything quiet for now. I will say that there are a few ARCs that have been distributed by LB and a cover that is *close* to being finalized.

If you'd like, I could check with my editor and see if it's all right to get you an ARC... You can always reach me on Prophecy's Myspace page at www.myspace.com/prophecypress.

Ooh, I actually got The King's Rose yesterday and in the midst of reading it right now! I have two book reviews due soon and not to mention I have to find a good on my English project! Ack! This is not good! @.@

Mandy - I thought yours was fine :) But in the interest of giving the most official info possible, I replaced the other version with the one you linked to, your editor's. About King's Rose - yes indeed!

Amee & Alea - glad you liked this post, I had a lot of fun putting it together. I'll do more (SO many seemingly good books coming in 09) but it'll be at pretty irregular intervals so keep an eye out :)

Michelle - I understand. But all this hush-hush is making me antsy!

Heidi & Lisa - glad to have you by :) Hope you enjoy future posts as well.

RR - don't I know it. SO glad I got into reviewing because now I'm aware of all these great books!

Lenore - I agree, I agree. If I were a book, I'd totally snog The King's Rose. Delectable indeed. :)

Post a Comment

Hey! For some reason, this embedded comment form makes most people click twice before the comment is processed and published. It's not you - it's just that it's a new Blogger feature with kinks and all that. (But I adore it and don't wanna get rid of it!) I removed Captcha to make the process easier. You don't have to rewrite the comments twice; just click on SUBMIT twice and it should work. If not, email me. Thanks! -Steph